A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift | Themes, Summary, Analysis

Jonathan Swift was known for his brutal satires that he wrote to comment on and criticize the social, political, and economic ills of his time. One such satirical work written by him is A Modest Proposal which was published in 1729. it was a year when Ireland was suffering from religious, political, and social strife as well as famine. The poor were extremely poor, often having to beg for food or money in the streets. The poorest of the lot were the Irish Catholics or Papists. Catholics were already suffering biases and discrimination throughout England. Catholic kids were not allowed to attend any school or University. Even Alexander Pope failed to get any formal education because of that. The famine further created issues for the Irish Catholics because of the irrational economic intervention of the British government in Irish matters. At such a time, many so-called economists and philosophers published papers suggesting various ideas to solve the economic problems of Ireland, most of which were unfeasible and some were ridiculous. Jonathan Swift wrote an acidic Juvenalian satire to criticize and lampoon the British government’s intervention and the various economic ideas offered by others as a solution for Irish problems while highlighting the stressful situations of Irish people. Since it was a scathing satire against the powerful bodies, Jonathan Swift published it anonymously. The full title of this satire was “A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children of Poor People From Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to the Public.” . . . So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the History of English Literature as we strive to offer a complete course for the preparation of UGC NET English literature, NTA NET English literature, PGTRB English,, SET English literature, TGT PGT English, GATE English Literature, and other exams, please stay connected with the Discourse, Thanks, and Regards!